| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, June 30, 2005 Warm temperatures have improved fishing for walleye and panfish. Strong winds have hampered fishing efforts on Saginaw Bay and the Great Lakes. Anglers are reminded that July 1, 2005 is the opening date for the taking of snapping turtles and soft shell turtles in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula only. Size and possession limits can be found in the 2005 Michigan Fishing Guide on page 13 under Table 7 - Amphibians and Reptiles.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula More walleye are starting to show-up in the Michigan waters of Lake Erie. Legal size fish have been caught off the Fermi Power Plant and around the Banana Dike in 20 to 26 feet of water and off Luna Pier in 10 feet of water. Anglers are trolling with Hot-n-Tot’s, spoons and crawler harnesses. Yellow perch have been caught at the Sputnik and near the River Raisin buoys using shiner minnows. Largemouth bass were caught off the rocky shoreline between Bolles Harbor and the Raisin River. Good numbers of freshwater drum have also been caught. In the Detroit River, walleye have been caught around the tip and along the east side of Celeron Island. Anglers are fishing bottom bouncers with crawlers in 12 to 14 feet of water. A few perch were caught along the weed lines around Stony Island. Walleye have been caught near the Ambassador Bridge when jigging artificial brown worms on the bottom in 30 feet of water. Fair too good walleye fishing in Lake St. Clair when trolling with crawler harnesses in 10 to 12 feet of water near Metro Beach. Best colors have been gold or silver blades and red beads. Some anglers are drifting perch rigs and slip bobbers in 12 feet of water while others are anchoring in 18 to 20 feet of water in the Shipping Channel. A few perch have been caught in the Shipping Channel near the Firecracker. In the St. Clair River, walleye have been caught near the mouth of the Black River on chartreuse spoons and just south of Marysville when vertical jigging with a brown rubber worm. Fishing the inland lakes in the region has produced good catches of walleye, bass, bluegills, crappie, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, and northern pike. Bowfin, carp and gar are also starting to bite. At Lexington and Port Sanilac, lake trout have been caught 70 to 80 feet down in waters up to 150 feet deep in the early mornings. Pier anglers are catching bluegills, rock bass and northern pike. At Harbor Beach, lake trout have been caught straight out and north of the harbor in 60 to 180 feet of water. Use Spin & Glows or Peanuts and Dodgers with Action Flies or squid close to the bottom. Some are using Dream Weaver and Silver Streak spoons in regular and magnum sizes 50 feet off the bottom. Salmon fishing was slow, but a few fish were taken in the top 60 feet of water north of the harbor. Try lead lines with small Spin Doctors and Action Flies or spoons. Best colors have been green glows, black and purple, and white with pearl. Brown trout fishing has been slow. A few yellow perch have been caught on minnows in 40 to 60 feet of water south of the harbor by the Cemetery. Bass and pike fishing has been very good inside the harbor using body baits and spoons on the weed beds. A few walleye were taken when casting body baits in the late evenings. Walleye action is picking up at Port Austin near the Lighthouse and back towards Hat Point Reef when fishing at night. While good numbers of fish have been caught, anglers will need to sort out the sub-legal fish. Boats are drifting or trolling assorted crank baits and crawler harnesses behind planer boards. Walleye fishing has been excellent on Saginaw Bay. As long as the hot weather continues, so will the walleye fishing. Hot action was reported in several locations from Pinconning to Caseville. Some are fishing the Callahan Reef with crawler harnesses. Walleye have been caught on blue and silver Hot-n-Tot’s in 16 to 20 feet of water near Buoys A and B. Near Quanicassee, fish were caught on Hot-n-Tot’s in 10 to 12 feet of water. Fish the shallow waters around the Charity Islands. Channel cats have been caught near the mouth of the Hot Ponds on crawlers and shrimp. Southwestern Lower Peninsula At New Buffalo, boat anglers are taking coho and steelhead on green, blue and purple lures. Pier anglers have caught brown trout, channel catfish and freshwater drum on crawlers, crayfish and small green spoons. Perch have been caught on minnows and crawlers. Boats trolling near St. Joe have caught some chinook, coho, lake trout and steelhead in 150 to 250 feet of water. Spoons and body baits in blue, green, purple and pink have worked well. Steelhead have been caught off the pier at night. Slow fishing was reported in the St. Joe River. Smallmouth bass have been caught between Niles and Buchanan on spinners or live bait. Fair to good salmon fishing was reported in South Haven, where surface water temperatures have hit 70 degrees. From Saugatuck to Holland, the fish are scattered. Chinook and steelhead can be found in waters up to 200 feet or deeper. Anglers are trolling 15 to 50 feet down with blue and green Dolphins or any lures in silver and orange. Perch fishing has been slow, but this is a good time of year to catch flathead catfish off the piers at Saugatuck. Walleye anglers fishing Lake Macatawa have caught good numbers of freshwater drum. In the Kalamazoo River, steelhead have been caught up near the Allegan Dam. Walleye are hitting on small twister tail jigs. Channel cats, bluegill, crappie and smallmouth bass have been caught. Good numbers of panfish have been caught on many area inland lakes including Gull Lake and Austin Lake in Kalamazoo County and Gun Lake and Thornapple Lake in Barry County. On the Grand River at Grand Rapids, light numbers of skamania steelhead and brown trout have been caught on flies, crawlers or yarn at the Sixth Street Dam. Walleye, smallmouth bass and catfish have also been caught. Near Lansing, anglers have caught bluegills, pumpkinseed and rock bass on leaf worms under a bobber. Smallmouth bass have been caught on crawlers or spinners, and walleye can be found below the dams. Catfish are hitting frozen minnows, crawlers or shrimp, and carp are hitting on corn. Northern pike have been caught in the Red Cedar River across from Potters Park. The Looking Glass River is usually good for northern pike and panfish. At Grand Haven, chinook are in 60 to 150 feet of water, but the fish are scattered. Spoons in orange, red, blue and green have worked well. Perch have been caught off the South Pier. Boats are fishing the mud line in front of the pier and catching perch on alewife and minnows. Light numbers of steelhead can still be caught off the pier. At Muskegon, salmon and steelhead have been caught in waters up to 350 feet deep. Trout fishing on the Muskegon River has been good. Rainbow and brown trout have been caught when drifting worms or flies. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers at Rogers City are starting to focus on salmon. Those still targeting lake trout should fish in shallow waters 50 to 70 feet deep with cowbells and Dodgers along with Spin-Glows. Try fishing north of the harbor off Forty Mile Point. The salmon can be found as far north as Hammond Bay. Hot colors have been blue, green, white, black and purple. Steelhead have been caught in the top 20 feet of waters 160 to 180 feet deep using planer boards and Dipsey Divers. The best fishing has been in waters in 44 to 48 degrees where the baitfish are. There has been increased fishing effort at Rockport. Lake trout have been caught off Middle Island in 65 to 80 feet of water. Boats are fishing near the Nordmere Shipwreck in waters 120 feet deep. A variety of fish consisting of steelhead, coho, chinook, lake trout and whitefish have been caught off Stoneport. No brown trout or walleye have been caught. Near Alpena, some nice walleye have been caught when casting #14 Rapalas in the headwaters at the Ninth Street Dam. A few walleye have been caught on Hot-n-Tot’s when trolling straight out from the harbor. Try fishing in the evenings out near Sulphur Island, Grass Island and Scarecrow Island. Lake trout fishing has been good around Thunder Bay Island, and near the mouth of the Black River. Anglers are trolling spoons with dodger/fly or dodger/spoon combinations in 55 to 85 feet of water. Bass fishing has been good around the Partridge Point Marina and behind the Cement Plant. Inland, walleye have been caught in Fletcher’s Floodwaters. Anglers are fishing from the launch site down to the dam where the water is deeper. Bass, northern pike and panfish have been caught. On Black Lake, walleye were caught while trolling and drifting crawler harnesses or jigging with a minnow. Northern pike have are hitting on sucker minnows, golden shiners, spoons and Rapalas along the north end of the lake. From Harrisville to Oscoda, good numbers of lake trout and a few chinook salmon have been caught. Some boat anglers reported limit catches. Walleye have been caught off the pier at Oscoda. At Tawas, anglers continue to catch lake trout when trolling 55 to 75 feet down in 80 to 120 feet of water near Buoys 1 and 2. Chinook and brown trout have also been caught. Anglers are surf-casting at night off the Singing Bridge access site. Excellent walleye fishing was reported from Au Gres to Pinconning. Anglers are fishing off the Charity Islands, south of Point Au Gres and just off the mouth of the Au Gres River Northwestern Lower Peninsula Light fishing pressure was reported from Harbor Springs to Charlevoix. Fish were caught 70 to 85 feet down in waters ranging from 80 to 130 feet deep. Look for good numbers of bait fish. Boats are trolling out of Harbor Springs and Petoskey with green and silver spoons. Shore and pier anglers are concentrating on smallmouth bass, but the fishing has been slow. In Lake Charlevoix, perch are starting to show up in shallow waters along the weed beds and around the docks. At Traverse City, whitefish have been caught on spawn in the East Bay off Deepwater Point in 70 to 90 feet of water. Fair lake trout fishing was reported when trolling cowbells and spoons in 90 to 100 feet of water. In the West Bay, a limited amount of legal size whitefish have been caught. Smallmouth bass action has been fair in both Bays. On the Lower Boardman River, smallmouth bass are hitting on worms and leeches. A few walleye were caught at night below the Union Street Dam. Small trout along with suckers and carp have also been caught. Northern pike have been caught on Spinners and Rapalas from the dam to the mouth. Catfish have been spotted in the river, and this fishery should only get better as July is usually when the big cats start to show up. Those fly fishing have done well in the upper river. The Brown Drake hatch is just about done, but anglers are still catching fish on imitations. Brook and brown trout are hitting on dry flies, mainly Brown Drakes, Caddis imitations and Adams Dry Flies. Bluegills and rock bass have been caught in the Brown Bridge Pond. Large and smallmouth bass have started to bite. Anglers are using crawlers, poppers and rubber worms. Near Frankfort, pier anglers have caught some nice steelhead and brown trout on alewives in the early morning. Smallmouth bass and freshwater drum have been caught on the North Pier. Good trout and salmon fishing from Point Betsie to the Herring Hole in waters 110 to 170 feet deep. The big steelhead have been caught 12 to 15 miles offshore. Best lures have been glow screwballs and blue or green Dolphins. Near Onekama, pier anglers have caught smallmouth bass, northern pike and rock bass. Boat anglers found success trolling between Onekama and Arcadia. Steelhead have been caught 13 to 18 miles out, while chinook can be found in 110 to 230 feet of water. A few lake trout and brown trout have also been caught north of the piers. Whitefish are hitting on wax worms in Crystal Lake. Near Arcadia, anglers caught good size chinook salmon close to shore. Most fish have been caught on a variety of spoons in 150 to 250 feet of water. Chinook, lake trout and steelhead have been caught. Those fishing 8 to 15 miles offshore reported good fishing with some limits caught in the top 30 feet of water with bright spoons and planer boards. Good bass fishing was reported in the early mornings when the bass are on the surface feeding on bugs and minnows. Anglers fishing Portage Lake have caught smallmouth bass, bluegills and rock bass. The bluegills and sunfish have started to show up on the beds, so look for them in shallow waters. At Manistee, boat anglers have started catching chinook, lake trout, and steelhead. Those trolling in the harbor have caught a few brown trout. Light numbers of summer steelhead have been caught in the Big Manistee River near Tippy Dam. Most fish have been caught in the early mornings or late evenings on crawlers or flies. Brown trout and walleye have also been caught. Inland lakes such as Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell, Manistee Lake, Gun Lake and Lake Missaukee are producing good numbers of panfish. At Ludington, strong winds seem to have the fish scattered. Boats trolling up to Big Sable Point have caught chinook and steelhead. Those trolling in front of the pier caught steelhead. Boats are trolling 45 to 60 feet down in waters 150 to 170 feet deep with blue or green Dolphins. Upper Peninsula In Keweenaw Bay, salmon have been caught when trolling 60 feet down in 80 to 90 feet of water. Lake trout fishing was fair when trolling but slow when jigging. Boats trolling in Traverse Bay had fair to good success in 120 to 180 feet of water. Jigging produced spotty fishing in waters up to 240 feet deep. Good lake trout fishing out of Marquette in waters 150 to 220 feet deep. Boats trolling in 20 to 50 feet of water near the Chocolay River found coho and lake trout. Summer fishing patterns can now be seen on many of the inland lakes. Surface waters temperatures are reaching 75 to 78 degrees. Walleye have been caught in the Michigamme and Menominee reservoirs. In the Upper Menominee River, good bass fishing was reported above the Chalk Hills Dam when working crank baits along the weed beds around Twin Island. Northern pike and bluegill fishing has been good along the entire river, but the walleye fishing was slow. In Little Bay De Noc, the Mayfly hatches are in full bloom and alewife are moving into the Bay. Water temperatures are 65 to 74 degrees. Large walleye have been caught when trolling or drifting crawlers in 10 to 18 feet of water near Breezy Point at night. Good night fishing in the narrows just off Hunters Point when jigging crawlers in waters 10 to 16 feet deep. Perch were caught in 14 to 25 feet of water off Gladstone Beach. Smallmouth are active north of the Ford River when casting crank baits along the weed lines. Walleye have been caught drifting crawlers around the mouth of the Escanaba River in the early mornings. In Big Bay, good catches of walleye were reported from Valentine Creek around to Porcupine Point when trolling or drifting crawlers in 10 to 20 feet of water. Smallmouth bass have been caught in Garden Bay when drifting or casting crank baits along the weed beds. The salmon fishing at Fairport is really starting to heat up. Anglers are trolling 40 to 80 feet down in waters 120 to 130 feet deep with anything that glows. At Sault Ste. Marie, anglers caught good numbers of atlantic salmon in the St. Mary’s River. The herring have started to bite around Drummond Island. Fish were caught on teardrops with wax worms in 18 feet of water. Good smallmouth bass fishing on crank baits along the west end of Grape Island. Walleye have been caught when trolling harnesses about two feet behind bottom bouncers in 20 feet of water. At De Tour, anglers continue to catch chinook and atlantic salmon when trolling 15 to 45 feet down using red and white or green and white spoons. Good salmon fishing was reported at Cedarville and Hessel. Salmon are hitting the top 15 feet of waters 40 feet deep. Herring are biting in shallow waters 5 to 10 feet deep. Yellow perch have been caught on crab meat and worms in 4 feet of water in the Moscoe Channel. At St. Ignace, boats are still trolling the back side of Mackinac Island for salmon. Most fish have been caught 45 to 50 feet down using a green flasher with a white fly. |
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